


One Step Closer

by trixiechick



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Spoilers, suggestive victuuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-21 19:04:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8257006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixiechick/pseuds/trixiechick
Summary: Victor's side.





	

**Author's Note:**

> just some thoughts on episode 1, from Victor's point of view. there are two scenes that never fail to make me laugh no matter how often i see them, and they are both because of how rude yuri is to his idol both times he finally has a chance to speak to him.

 

 

He turned and walked away.

That reporter and his coach called out to him, but he just kept plodding away, as if he had nothing at all to do with the people behind him.

 _As if someone behind him hadn't just spoken to him and he hadn't just turned and walked away._ And yet, Victor couldn't even feel annoyed. It was just... 

It wasn't as if Victor paid a great deal of attention to his competition. Maybe he did, once upon a time. Perhaps he had gotten old, but it simply didn't matter who skated before or after him. Only one skater was on the ice at a time, after all, and his score only reflected his own performance, assuming the judges were doing their jobs. That was what was both wonderful and terrible about figure skating. At his age, at his _level_ , he _had_ to ignore every distraction if he was going to perform what he was capable of... His joints weren't getting younger. Neither was his back. Pretending that time had stood still for him was the greatest testament of his skill. That didn't mean, though, that he was unaware of his fellow skaters. This one, from Japan... so his name should be Katsuki Yuri, then. This was his first time at the Grand Prix Final. Of course Victor would notice that! 

Unfortunately for this Yuri and fortunately for Victor, he could only _imagine_ what the young man was thinking at this moment. To have performed so poorly overall... 

So, perhaps it wasn't surprising that he turned and walked away. Maybe he thought Victor was being condescending? Or... he might just not like Victor? It would have been nice to have a picture with each of his competitors. But.

Shouldn't Yuri's coach actually _go after_ him? Shouldn't _someone?_ Victor felt the urge to take a step, but. He didn't even know the other man. Why wasn't his coach moving? Yuri had to be depressed. Someone should be looking after him... who was there to take care of him? After a performance like that, maybe his coach was considering redirecting his attention to another skater. Still!

 _Right now_ , Yuri needed someone. 

Who was there?

 

 

"Are you looking for someone?"

Victor blinked, and then smiled Smile No. 47™. He didn't even know this person who was talking to him. Someone from the Russian Skating Federation, sent along to the World's to make sure that Victor was watered and protected at all times. This man was just doing his job. 

He really didn't have anything to do with Victor.

"No, not really." He looked down the hall again. Tomorrow, the World Championship would begin, so today, there were lots of skaters milling about, getting ready for their practice runs or just goofing around together, shaking off their nerves. "Just looking to see who's here." He smiled brightly, a slightly cooler version of Smile No. 38™. 

The man chuckled, and Victor had the feeling he really wouldn't like this man if he got to know him.

"Well, not like _you'd_ have to worry about who else is around, huh?" He was looking at Victor as if he were the Golden Goose, ready to lay a fresh one.

Victor worked hard to avoiding Resting Bitch Face. "Mm." He turned around, and made as if he were stretching out.

It was a pity, though. The World's were in Japan that year. It would have been nice if Katsuki Yuri could have bounced back and qualified. Well, after that Grand Prix...

Victor took a deep breath, and let go, assuming that was probably the last time he would think about the other skater for a long time.

 

 

He first saw an indication of the video on his feed, a post from the Thai skater which just said, "This is so like Yuri!" with a link. He'd clicked it because he thought Plisetsky had gotten himself into trouble again.

He saw the title of the video, and he nearly switched away. Just the word "Tried" in the title seemed depressing, and anyway... this sort of thing... But the video loaded pretty fast, and then he was watching without even realizing.

And then he couldn't breathe.

His poodle rubbed his head sleepily against Victor's chest, and Victor started the video over again. And then he looked at the comments, but he went back to the video quickly. No one was saying anything even a little like what he was thinking. He watched it again. And then again. 

Victor turned and put his feet on the ground. His poodle complained softly. He took a deep breath, and he felt some sort of weird pressure on his chest. He stared out the window for a second, seeing nothing.

Three things were undeniably clear.

Katsuki Yuri did not dislike Victor.

Victor had to go to Japan immediately.

And...

But it was too soon for the third thought, so he shoved it away.

He switched to his phone book, and dialed his manager. He had to pack... 

His poodle whined at him, giving Victor Sad Puppy Eyes to let Victor know that nap time wasn't really over yet, was it?

Good, he'd bring his dog, too. No way to tell how long this would take, after all.

 

 

On the plane, Victor read up on Katsuki Yuri. One nice thing was, his family owned an onsen. That should make it easy to casually encounter him. _Though, what was Victor supposed to say?_ He'd figure it out, of course.

Getting there seemed troublesome, as he'd have to land at Fukuoka Airport and then take the train. Hopefully, they wouldn't mind his poodle. Well, if that was a problem, he'd just have to hire a car. Money was the solution to all problems, after all.

 _What was he going to say to Yuri? How would explain what he was doing?_ No, it was too soon to think about that. He scrolled through to watch some videos of Yuri skating. He avoided all the ones from the Grand Prix Final and the Japanese Nationals that season. As he expected, Yuri had talent, but.

There was something he lacked in each of those other performances that he had in the copy, so Victor ended up watching that one again. And again. And again.

The more he watched, the more certain Victor became. It was impossible, it was incomprehensible. So, naturally, he _had_ to see this man in person. And. And...

Victor had worked _tirelessly_ with his choreographer on this program, and _every move_ in it had been tailored to Victor's style and skills. _Every move_. Every expression had been diligently plotted out. The secret to success when under pressure was knowing exactly what you had to do _next_ at any moment, and to be comfortable with what you were doing _now_. This was _Victor's_ program.

So why was this Yuri's version...

No, _better_ wasn't the right word. Victor's performance was _better_. But Yuri's was...

 _Righter?_ More emotional? More passionate? Purer?

Victor switched to music, and closed his eyes, but his mind was running at a million miles a minute. 

He was going to become Yuri's coach. He'd realized it months ago, but he hadn't known just _how_ right he'd been. 

Yuri _needed_ someone. Victor was the _perfect_ someone. For... reasons that... 

He probably wouldn't need to explain his reasons. That was right, it wasn't like he was going to _ask_ Yuri if he wanted Victor's help. He would just _tell_ Yuri that he was _going_ to help him! He just had to phrase it correctly, and it would be fine. After all, why _wouldn't_ Yuri want his help? Yuri _clearly_ looked up to Victor. That was all that he needed!

Excellent, so he wouldn't ask Yuri anything, he would just tell him. Because, setting aside _everything else_ , Yuri had untapped potential, and if no one else saw it, well.

All the better for Victor.

 

 

The first thing he saw when he got to Hasetsu were posters of Yuri. He looked... _different_ than Victor remembered from the Grand Prix Final, or in the video. Discipline would have to begin with diet, but that was nothing to an athlete. 

Victor stared at Yuri's face until his poodle whined and bumped his leg enough to stir him. He smiled at his dog, and then headed out to find a cab.

Fortunately, he was able to pronounce the name of Yuri's family onsen easily, and the driver took off without a word. This was sort of nice, traveling on his own! It was like he wasn't a celebrity at all! He rubbed his poodle's head, and watched the scenery move around him. So, this is where Yuri grew up...? It was beautiful. And it was snowing! 

Fate had decreed that Victor's meeting with Yuri would be blessed.

They arrived at Yu-topia Akatsuki, and the driver warned him to be careful on the snow. Victor restrained himself from saying that this much snow to a Russian wasn't even worth mentioning. He went inside, feeling the _slightest_ twinge of nerves.

Wait, were dogs allowed in onsens?

"Oh, what a cute poodle!"

A small, pleasant man with a cute bow tie greeted him. Victor's eyes widened. Right... this was Yuri's family onsen... he would be... meeting Yuri's family.

"Ah! I hope it's not a problem, we're traveling together, you see," Victor explained, employing his never-failed Smile No. 16™. 

"Oh, of course not," Yuri's father, Victor assumed, said as he pet the dog. "We used to have a poodle, too... Ah! But don't let me leave you waiting, sir! Here, here, some slippers for you..."

In a surprisingly short time, all the formalities were taken care of, and Victor was taking his robe back to the hot spring, and Yuri's father had promised to take care of the poodle. Victor kept a sharp eye out, but the only sign of Yuri he saw was the same poster as was in the station, this time being used to advertise a menu item. Yuri's favorite? Victor would have to try it later. 

It was unlikely, wasn't it, that Yuri would be hanging around the onsen like a guest. But, Victor could ask Yuri's father about him after he soaked. It had been a long journey, after all, and it would be better to see Yuri after being refreshed and cleaned up. He was probably at the local skating rink, right? That was good. Victor would practice what he was going to say when he met Yuri while he soaked.

For some reason, no one else was using the outdoor pool. Even though it was snowing, the cold air just made the hot water feel better, the snow on the red berries was beautiful, and there were cherry blossoms in the wind. What a perfect day to meet with Yuri! 

Victor had just perfected what he was going to say when the door to the outdoor pool burst open, and Yuri, fully clothed, burst in. He started at Victor and Victor swallowed hard. This wasn't exactly in the plan...

"Vi-Victor... Why are you here?"

Ok, this was _definitely_ **not** the plan. That was all right. When something went wrong with the program, you just kept moving to the next step, anyway. In some ways, maybe, this might even work out better. 

Victor employed Perfect Smile No. 1™, and stood up, holding out his hand.

This was exciting!

 

 


End file.
